Chapter 92 Trust

Chapter 92 Trust
"What is it?" I ask.

My father stays silent, seemingly contemplating his answers. I watch as he thinks of his answer. What is he thinking? Will he tell the truth or make up lies again? From his previous words, chances are he'll finally tell me the truth, but since it's my father we're talking about, I'm not really sure what to expect from him other than lies.

Time keeps ticking, yet my father hasn't uttered a single word as he continues his rumination. He sits there next to me. His eyebrows are knitted together as he stares at the floor. After a little longer, he finally turns to me. From what it looks like, he has come to a decision. Hopefully, he'll tell me the truth this time.

"Well, as you've said it before, you don't want to lead the family, never, so instead of forcing you over and over again, I decided to prepare Dante to take over the role. The bodyguard thing is only temporary," my father says.

So, it's true. Just like what Dante said before, my father plans to make Dante the next family leader. After what my father said earlier, about how important Dante is to him, I get why he wants Dante to take over from him. I didn't realise how much my father trusted Dante until now. I guess Dante has done so much for the family that my father really put all his faith in him.

There's one thing I still don't understand. If my father has always wanted Dante to be the next leader, why make him my bodyguard? What's the significance of it? Is it some sort of test for Dante? If it's really a test, Dante must have known about it already after my father told him about his future role. So, why keep him as my bodyguard? To keep me from running away still? My father could've assigned someone else for the job, yet he makes Dante keep doing it.

"Why do you even make him my bodyguard? You could've just made him whoever you want right away," I say. My father grabs my hand and holds it, sighing as he frowns at our hands.

"The most important thing other than leading the family is keeping you safe. When I'm gone, your safety is also Dante's responsibility, not just the business. Making him your bodyguard is one of his lessons," my father says.

I frown at his words. The thought of losing my father, my one and only family by blood, makes my heart ache a little. Lots of previous actions hurt me, but he's still my father. The only person I have left of my family. Hearing him say what he said earlier makes me worried about the future. If the worst happens anytime soon and causes his death, then the people I have left are the family. I can't even trust all of them. Perhaps only Dante and Carlo. I'm not even sure if they'll actually care about me once my father's dead.

If Dante and Carlo ended up breaking my father's trust, they could kill me, sell me, or throw me to the streets. If that truly happens, I'll have no one else to rely on. I'll be all alone. Without my actual family or friends, I'll have to fend for myself. If I can choose, I'd probably rather they kill me instead of selling me or throwing me away. Living after such betrayal would hurt like shit, especially if Dante is the one who did it. Fuck, it'll hurt worse than finding out about Antonio faking his love and affection towards me. It'll be like living in hell on earth.

My father suddenly chuckles, and I stare at him in confusion. What's so funny? Is there something he hasn't told me? What else is he hiding? What is he thinking?

"Care to tell me your own secrets? I'm sure you have at least one," my father says. My heart stops at his demand.

Oh fuck. Does he know about Dante and me? Oh no. We're so cooked. I know my father will find out about us sooner or later. He always notices it when something's out of the ordinary. No one can truly hide anything from him because he'll figure it out anyway. I didn't think he would know about us this soon, though. What should I tell him?

"No need to hide it. I've been watching you two. I'm glad to say that everything's falling into place," my father says. My eyebrows furrowed after hearing what he said.

"What are you saying?" I ask.

Falling into place? What does he mean? One thing is for sure, he definitely knows about Dante and me. There's no way he said it if he doesn't know it. I mean, why would he even punish Dante if he has no idea about what's going on between Dante and me?

"Don't act dumb. You know what I'm talking about: You and Dante. You think I don't notice how you two act when you're in the same room? It's like you're walking on eggshells when I'm around the two of you. You think you're good at hiding, but you make it too obvious that you like each other," my father says.

Shit. My father really knows. I thought Dante and I had been careful enough, but no, not with my father's watchful gaze on us. He probably already figured something might happen between Dante and me since he's seen us together that time when we were training together. Is that why he's punishing Dante? Doesn't he like Dante? If he doesn't, why would he continue letting Dante close to me despite all the punishments he's given him?

"Is that why you're punishing him? Because he's getting too close to me? Why do you even care?" I ask.

"For your safety, and to keep him in his place. You've been hurt too many times, so I'm taking a precaution. It's good that the punishments seem to serve their purpose," my father says.

"Yeah, serve their purpose in terms of scaring him away from me," I say, scoffing and rolling my eyes at him. I stare at the wall, and then a thought hits me.

Wait. A precaution? Damn. I guess my father already predicted from the start that I'd end up liking Dante. All this time, I thought I'd been careful enough around my father with Dante, but now that I know this, my effort is a waste, and Dante is the one who paid the price.

"I'd rather him scared than treating you like shit," my father says.

I understand his concern, but I'd rather not have him keep punishing Dante just because he wants to be close to me. Now that my father knows Dante is treating me well, I don't think it's necessary to punish him again. Now that everything is out in the open, there's no use lying to my father about Dante and me anymore. I'll come clean now.

"Don't punish him ever again. We want to be together, and you can't stop us," I say. My father's lips curl up, and then laughter comes out of him. Why is he laughing again? Is this a good sign or a bad one? I can't lie, but I feel scared about what he will do to Dante now that I've confessed my situation with Dante.

"Who says I'm stopping you? That has been my plan from the beginning," my father says.

His plan? Wait a second. Did I hear it right? Is my father actually saying that he wants Dante and me to be together? What the fuck? Damn. I can't believe I've fallen into his trap. I admit, his plan is slick as heck. I never thought he'd actually play matchmaker with Dante and me. I don't even know how to feel about this. Does Dante know about this? I don't think so. If he knows about my father's plan, he won't put distance between us just because he got punished.

This is insane. The good thing about this is that my father finally chose the right guy for me. After all the shits I've been through with the other guys before, Dante is an absolute improvement in a choice. Why didn't my father do this sooner? He could've introduced me to Dante sooner. I don't think meeting him differently will make any difference. I'll probably like Dante either way.

"So, you really planned all this? You actually want me to be with Dante?" I ask.

"No, I'm kidding. However, now that we know no one outside the family is trustworthy, Dante and you being together is worth a try," my father says.

Alright. That's quite disappointing. I thought my father was making a good choice this time with Dante. It turns out it was all me. I'm the one who made the choice. However, I'm glad to hear that my father actually agrees with Dante and me to be together. There's no more hiding from him. I can actually be with Dante now, but not publicly because we still have to deal with the Ricci. Being seen in public with Dante in a romantic way will ruin our plan.

"Now that you've made your choice with Dante as the next leader, what about me? Didn't you always want me to step up?" I ask.

"We both know you've made your choice. You don't want anything to do with the family, so I had to go with plan B, which is Dante," my father says.

Well, now that I basically have zero role in the family, what will I do? If I ended up marrying Dante, I'd be another mob wife in this world. Hate is a strong word because I do enjoy the perks of being a mafia boss's daughter, but I dislike being involved in such a world full of crimes.

Do I really want it? Am I willing to leave my dream of freedom by staying with Dante and be by his side forever? The idea of being with Dante isn't inherently bad, but still, what comes with the relationship is what makes it bad. However, as my father said, being born into this family will make it hard for me to leave this world behind. My past and origin will always haunt me. If I leave, there will be no one to protect me anymore, and I don't think I'll last that long by myself. Maybe staying is not that bad. The worst that could happen is that I get killed by our enemies. My best choice for now is to stay here, as much as I hate to admit it.

"So, is it really okay for me to be with him?" I ask.

"Yes, but let me know if he ends up being an asshole. He's good at everything, so it'll be unfortunate if that happens. It'll be a shame to get him replaced," my father says, sighing.

Yeah, no. That won't happen. Dante won't betray us. If he wanted to, he would've done it a while ago. I trust him, and so does my father. If Dante ends up being one of the bad guys, he's fucked up real bad. I don't think I'll truly trust anyone if it happens. I'll stick to trusting him. No. I don't even want to think of the possibility of him breaking my trust.

"I don't think that's necessary. Dante is good. I trust him. If you want him to lead next, then you must've trusted him, too, right?" I ask.

"Yes," my father says.

"Alright then. That's settled," I say.

"For now. I think it's best if you don't tell him about this. I want to give him more tests before I fully approve your relationship. Just act like you always do around him and pretend we've never talked about this," my father says.

"Okay," I say.

Wow. This is insane. My father's approval of Dante and my relationship is not something I'd thought would happen this soon. I guess this is good for us. No more worrying about my father standing between us. That's a relief to hear. Dante still has to stay on his toes for a bit longer, though, but it should be fine. i'm sure he'll pass all the tests my father will put him through.